Field of Invention
The disclosed subject matter relates generally to a vise for machining work pieces. More particularly, said subject matter is a vise jaw for supporting and securing multiple work pieces for machining.
Background of the Invention
Work pieces are customarily secured against movement between the jaws of a vise during machining. FIG. 1 illustrates a common vise 100 with: a jaw 110 and two face plates 111, 112; and a crank 120 for moving the movable jaw 110 between open and closed positions. In the most basic scenario, a work piece (not shown) is simply clamped or pressed between the two-face plates 111, 112 by turning the crank 120 to drive the movable jaw 110a toward the stationary jaw 110b. Frequently, face plates with differing work-surface qualities or characteristics are required for particular work pieces. For this reason, face plates 111, 112 of common vises 100, are preferably interchangeable (e.g., via removing screws) to enable a user to swap face plates having a variety of working surfaces for customized holding of a particular work piece.
One important limitation of the common vise 100 of FIG. 1 is that only one work piece (e.g., elements 150, 160 or 170 in FIG. 1A) at a time can be reliably secured against movement when pressed between the two face plates 111, 112. Referring to the schematic of face plates 111, 112 shown in FIG. 1A, this limitation is due to each of the face plates 111, 112 having only a single-plane working surface for contacting work pieces, and since once a first work piece 150 is held fast between the planes (as shown) any larger additional work pieces 160 cannot fit between the planes of the face plates 111, 112; and, any smaller additional work pieces 170 fall through the space between the two face plates 111, 112.
In the past, multiple work pieces have been held fast by compensating jaw mechanisms. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,346 (issued Feb. 12, 1963) by Lassy discloses a “fixture for holding a plurality of work pieces.” Referring to Lassy's figures, Lassy's disclosed device features a compensating jaw assembly 15 which is cooperable with a fixed jaw member 16. Lassy, col. 3:15-20. The jaw assembly 15 is placed on rails 11, 12 and coupled to a crank 58 to drive the jaw assembly 15 along the rails 11, 12 toward or away from the fixed jaw member 16. Id., col. 4:7-30. Ultimately, the working surface of the compensating jaw assembly 15 is defined by a plurality of surfaces (84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, and 91) that are each capable of retaining a separate work piece (94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, and 101). Id., col. 4: 50-59. Internally, the compensating jaw assembly 15 features stages of pivotable members that allow the surfaces 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, and 91 to yield (i.e., compensate) in response to varying sizes of work pieces (94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, and 101).
Although suitable for holding multiple work pieces at once, compensating jaw mechanisms like the one disclosed by Lassy have several inadequacies. First, such compensating jaw mechanisms cannot, with reference to FIG. 1, readily be used on a common vise 100 without removal of the entire moving jaw 110a and replacing the same with a compensating jaw assembly and rails. In other words, known compensating jaw mechanisms cannot be easily retrofitted to common vises. Second, the working surfaces of a compensating jaw assembly cannot quickly be interchanged to meet the holding needs of differing work pieces. In known compensating jaw assemblies, changing the working surfaces is difficult because that action requires either the separate swapping out of each of the underlying compensating elements or swapping out the whole jaw assembly. Thus, a need exits for compensating mechanisms that are easily retrofit to modern vises and that facilitate interchangeability of working surfaces for gripping work pieces.